


the search for the sublime

by aberm



Category: Raven's Home, That's So Raven
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/F, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Some Humor, Some angst, Time Skips, abuse mention, hey guys i will apologize in advance for this trash, just a couple of bisexual mothers raising their kids, some cursing in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-03 18:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12754062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aberm/pseuds/aberm
Summary: Now that they're divorced and living together, Raven and Chelsea begin to develop a romantic relationship that's long overdue.





	the search for the sublime

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! A quick note: That's So Raven was ultimately my favorite show as a child, and I was beyond ecstatic that they were going to bring back my girls Rae and Chels for a continuation. Raven's Home DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! And now, since I am older and gayer, the sexual tension between the two DOES NOT go unnoticed by me anymore. THEY ARE GIRLFRIENDS OKAY? MARRIED. They literally never stop touching each other. 
> 
> Also!!!! This is dedicated to my girl Trin! Love you bitch! 
> 
> Anyways.
> 
>  
> 
> (Shameless plug: my Tumblr is grace-facing so feel free to follow or message me if anything!!)

_Summer_

Everything has finally lulled enough for night robes to come off and feets to be dipped into silky, lavender bed sheets that screamed comfort, however, the ringing of a buzzer disturbs this delicate setting. Raven, with furrowed brows, glances at the time on the wall. The time read just after 11PM. 

"Who in the world..." she mutters, making strides to the front door. 

Before opening the door, she leans over and presses her ear up against the wooden surface. 

"Who is it?" Raven feigns a deep voice that makes her sound like a retired felon with a nasty habit of smoking. She's about 2 seconds away from dialing the emergency line because although this may be a relatively decent neighborhood, one can never be too sure. 

A quiet, muffled voice answers. 

"Rae..." 

Raven immediately unhooks the chain, unlocks the lock and flings open the door. Standing there, with two duffle bags at her feet and a hand gripping onto the bony shoulder of a 9-year-old boy, is her best friend in the entire world. 

"Chels," Raven manages out, her eyes never leaving the dull, broken look of the others. 

She lets them in, of course, hurrying to take a bag and guide Levi in with a hand. Raven fixes a glass of milk and some cookies for Levi, settling him in the kitchen while the mothers go into the living room to have a talk. 

There, is when Raven's life is changed forever. 

Chelsea, just, _breaks down_. Her soft sobs and the ripples Raven smooths over her back while she hums is the only source of noise in the otherwise still apartment. 

The two remain there; Raven holding onto a clinging Chelsea, not saying a word besides a few hushed _it's okay's_ and some whispered _I've got you's_. The brunette does plant a touch of kisses onto the crown of Chelsea's head, gliding a hand over the red locks, silent promises of never letting go quite so easily. 

At some point, Levi walks into the living room. Raven notices his meek presence and nods him over. He climbs onto the couch and buries himself into Raven's other side, his thin arm trying to wrap itself around the two women in a protective embrace. Raven smiles at the attempt, moving her own arm to snake around Levi's back and rest on a shoulder. She glances at Chelsea to find her fast asleep and finds Levi in a similar position not so long after. 

She allows herself a few moments of breaths before she falls into a slumber as well. 

...

Without a single protest, the Daniels officially move in. 

Nia and Booker are delighted to have their auntie Chels and cousin Levi there. Although a little curious and suspicious as to why on Nia's part, Booker remains oblivious to the way Chelsea's usual cheery exterior seems so bleak now, how her eyes don't glow in the same way it used to, or how she is hesitant to do or touch _anything_ , despite having been over this apartment a hundred times and knowing how to make herself at home before. These observations trouble the young girl, so she decides that a question is in order. 

"Is aunt Chelsea okay?" 

Raven stops what she's doing--which isn't much, because she's merely flipping through a magazine while the laundry is being done--and looks into the caring eyes of her daughter. Nia; the moon to Booker's sun that reminds Raven how brilliant her 11-year old's soul is. Bless her. But also, she doesn't want to worry her with such adult tribulations. 

"Oh, baby, your aunt Chels is going through some changes right now. She needs us and I know she can especially count on you, right?" 

Raven knows that Nia is too smart to accept that as the full extent of the truth, but her little girl decides to leave it at rest for now. _Bless her_. 

...

Booker is just very excited to have a little brother figure. 

"My own bro that I can mentor," he says, a look of smugness adoring his face. He means to show proudness, but it always comes across as arrogance. Nia can atone for that. 

"Or someone else you can try to boss around," Nia will shoot back scornfully, rolling her dark eyes. And the twins will go at it.

Levi watches these exchanges with interest. He quickly adapts well, and he almost never looks back at his old life again. 

...

Chelsea tries. Really, she does. 

Cooking is added to the list of her weaknesses, along with cleaning most things, laundry, repairing toys, spending over budget, sharing the TV remote during TV time, misplacing miscellaneous items, etc. etc. etc. 

Raven smiles at the attempts, regardless. Some exasperated sighs here or there, but her heart warms at the sight of Chelsea swiping a broom across the floorboards and accidentally bumping into an end table, knocking over a framed photo. Chelsea eagerly jumping at the chance to whip up a baked good for Levi, resulting in the smoke alarm blaring. Chelsea unknowingly picking up the wrong laundry basket or forgetting the laundry altogether. 

If anybody ever asked Raven, she wouldn't want it any other way. 

Until Chelsea actually sets aflame the stove, then yeah, maybe a slight alteration to that sentiment. 

...

It's the first day of school and Levi is crammed underneath Booker's bed. 

"What are you doing?" Booker inquires quizzically, wondering for a moment if this is normal "little brother" behavior. 

The younger boy groans in response, and honestly, Booker is insanely impressed that he has remained in his position for so long because no one has survived this long under Booker's bed. No one. 

"Uh, as long as you're down there, do you mind handing me my underwear? I think the red ones I wore all week are somewhere--" 

Before Booker could finish, Levi is already scrambling out from underneath and rising to his feet. 

"I think my depressive episode is over for now," he says with a sour face, brushing any imaginary lingering filth from his body. He looks over to Booker and finds him laughing himself silly. 

"Booker? Please tell me you were kidding about the underwear." 

Booker ceases his wailing laugh and shoots him a blank stare. 

"I wish--your mom shrunk all of my other underwear. I use them as hats for my action figures now," the older boy nods with an amused grin. "Why were you under my bed, though?"

"Because my bed doesn't come in for another few days," Levi supplies lamely, a need of directing the question and discussion towards another topic. 

But Booker has picked up on being a decent enough older brother/mentor, so it proves useless. He knows he must address this. 

"Levi." 

The 9-year-old relieves a heavy sigh. 

"It's school. I'm new and I'm nervous. Usually, my dad would give me some encouraging words...and some money." 

"Well, I don't have money, but I can spare some encouraging words." 

Booker pats Levi on the shoulder and the boys take a seat on top of the messy bed. He goes on to spew some cliched words, a lot of exaggerated points and finished off with a satisfied smile. By the time Booker was done with his speech, he turns to see that Levi wasn't where he was a second ago. 

"Levi?" 

The shorter boy found himself en route to his mother. He runs into auntie Raven instead. 

"Hey, Levi, you ready for school today?" She provides him an expectant smile, crouching down to his level in a way that reminds him of what his father would do. 

Instead of answering, Levi shrugs, his pinkish lips reserved into a thin line. 

Raven, with knitted brows, places a hand on his arm. "What's wrong?" 

"School." 

A sense of clear realization washes over Raven. She stands and leads Levi toward the living room by the hand. They sit down on the couch that has been turned into Nia's bed for a time being and Raven makes sure to look Levi face to face. 

"C'mon, tell me like it is. You can trust me," Raven says in an assertive, maternal tone. 

So, he talks. He spills his anxieties and fears of what the first day in a new school will bring. What if he gets lost? What if he misses his classes? What if no one knows he exists and doesn't talk to him? What if they think he was weird or they say rude things? What if he never gets to see his dad again? 

The last worriment sends a surge of unease through Raven's stomach and settles in the back of her mind. She solely addresses the concerns of the school part, relaying things such as being yourself and remembering that it's everyone's first day of school and they all must be just as nervous. 

("But what about Booker? He doesn't seem nervous." 

Raven chuckles. 

"Baby, Booker is _the_ most nervous of all.") 

Levi begins to feel better. He received some new perspective, and with that, he dashes off to his and Booker's bedroom to organize and change into his first day of school outfit that he neglected to pick out already. At a loss of a Daniel, Raven gains another, as Chelsea comes skipping into the room. 

"Good morning, Levi!" she calls out joyfully to Levi as he brushes past her. "Good morning, Rae!" 

The redhead comes over and plops herself right next to Raven. 

"Any first day of school jitters?" She asks, a teasing smile on her face. 

Raven stares at Chelsea for a moment, studying her features. She looks a lot happier. A lot healthier. Definitely glowing more. Raven breaks out into a smile of her own. 

"You used to always ask me that every new school year," Raven reminisces. 

"And?"

"And this time, I think we're gonna be okay." 

... 

_Fall_

Nia feels forgotten. 

Or, at least not getting as much attention as her twin brother. Which is accurate, but she is later reassured that that is because Booker needs it more than she does at the time. 

Raven is horrified (and guilty) at the awareness, so she takes the situation as a learning, growing experience and shows some more notice towards her only daughter. It was never _ever_ because she loved Nia any less, but because Nia is the maturest kid (well, besides Levi, of course) she has ever seen and she didn't feel like she ever had to really worry about her. But that should have never been the case. 

Nia will continue to grow and Raven will watch her grow with so much affection and gratitude and with careful, observing eyes. Nia is Raven's shero. The young girl understands this, and the mother and daughter hug and hold each other a little extra for a while. 

Chelsea regards this and her heart just _swells_ with warmth and tenderness. She hugs and holds Levi a little tighter, too. 

...

Weeks go by and Chelsea improves her domestic skills. 

The mothers can now easily rotate doing laundry, she folds them a lot neater, she mops a lot carefully, she fixes small things a lot quicker. Cooking...is still a work in progress. But Chelsea is at an entirely different place than where she was months ago. 

Raven welcomes this development gleefully. 

...

"Why are you saying nice things about Garrett?" 

"I just wanna remind Levi that his dad is still a good guy," 

"But he's not a good guy,"

"Oh, sure he's made some poor choices--"

"No, no, Chels, cutting your bangs without a mirror; that's, you know, that's a poor choice. Um, Garrett is a _criminal_." 

"Yeah..."

"What do you tell people when they ask where he is?"

"Oh, I-I say he's out of state," 

"He's in prison,"

"Yeah; out of state," 

"Chels, you had an invention that made you rich; you had infomercials, girl. And then Garrett took it all away, why do you keep sugarcoating everything he does?" 

"I don't know, Rae, I guess it's cause I like to see the glass half full,"

"You don't have a glass to see half full, he stole it! Seriously, this is not good for you, you can not keep bottling up your emotions like this. It is not good for you or Levi."

"Raven. Lydia. Baxter. I am not holding in any anger, okay?" 

"Wow, now I know you're mad, cause you're using my government name, I don't like it."

... 

After Raven shuts the laptop and orders the kids to go to their rooms for the rest of the night, she turns to Chelsea with a dejected smile. 

"Wanna talk?" 

Chelsea nods her head and follows Raven into their shared bedroom. 

"So. Today was a little draining," Raven starts, closing the door to the room and sitting next to the auburn-haired woman on the bottom bunk of the bed. "I'm sorry about making you face it."

Chelsea, up until then, had been silent and sorrowful, but once she heard Raven actually apologizing, her head whipped up so fast, Raven feared for her neck. 

"What? No, Rae, please, you shouldn't apologize. I _needed_ to face this. You're the only one who would make me." 

The psychic is taken aback. Chelsea notices this. 

"Rae. You helped me. You're _always_ helping me. Especially now more than ever. I can never thank you enough because it just means so much to me." she says this, voice so smooth and soft, like velvet. 

They cry. Together. Their hug lasts almost a lifetime. 

...

There's a rift in Nia and Tess's friendship. 

This throws everyone off guard and out of balance because how can two 11-year-olds just all of a sudden hate each other's guts? But, not too worry; Booker and Levi are on the case. 

(Raven and Chelsea worry regardless.) 

The boys sit the two bickering girls down and ask the obvious. 

" _What_ is going on?" 

Nia surprisingly is the first to point fingers.

"How would _you_ guys like to be taken advantaged of?" 

Tess bites back abrasively. "Well, how would _you_ guys like to be stabbed in the back by your own girl?" 

"I didn't do anything _wrong_ , Tess!" 

"Nia quit playing and own up to your stuff!"

"Why not own up to yours?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, Tess."

"You first, princess." 

"Stop calling me that!" 

"Stop being mad at me!"

"How can I when you are so self-centered and don't care about my thoughts and feelings?" 

"How can you say that? All I ever _do_ is care about your thoughts and feelings." 

There's a pause. 

"You're so full of it," Nia says this, voice low and full of venom.

Tess just stares. Eyes wide, watery and wounded. And then she flees; boots stomping and doors slamming and Nia snatches a pillow from her bed and smothers her face into it and just _screams_. 

She pulls the pillow away and her own eyes are wet and blotchy and her breathing is labored. She quietly asks the boys to leave and they listen without another word. 

Booker and Levi are now worrying too. They go to their mothers. 

"Oh no, Booker, are you serious?" Raven implores, ready to charge into Nia's room and gather her girl into her arms and hold her. Chelsea places a hand on top of Raven's and squeezes it, almost as if silently advising her to stay where she is now. 

"Yeah, mom. I've never seen those two so mad. It's scary." Booker drops his head and his sight glues to the floor. 

"We don't know what to do," Levi admits forlornly. 

The atmosphere is tense. Chelsea decides to act. 

"Boys, why don't you go to your room for a bit? I wanna talk to Rae." 

They reluctantly follow her instruction, and once they are out of earshot, Chelsea fully turns to Raven and collects the psychic's hands into her own. 

"Rae..."

"Chels, this is serious. I mean, it's our girls. I know I sometimes give Tess a hard time, but she's family. She knows that. I...almost don't know what to do either," she confesses, voice so soft, it's nearly a whimper. 

"Hey. You remember all the times we had fights, yeah? And we got through them. Because we talked and listened to what the other had to say. We still do that. The girls can do that, too." 

"But you heard Booker, that fight is pretty nasty. And they're just so young, they may not ever want to talk about it." Raven retracts her hands from Chelsea's grasp and turns away further into the kitchen. Chelsea follows behind. 

"Raven, this is a time when we can also talk to them, you know. Girls to girls." The redhead offers, intent on not leaving her side. 

The brunette stops her movement and remains facing the refrigerator. 

Finally, after a long stretch of a moment, Raven faces her. With glassy eyes, she nods. Chelsea wastes no time in wrapping Raven in a hug. 

They give the tweens a while longer to cool off, and then eventually get them into the same room again. While each are on opposite ends of the couch, the mothers stand and address the two and the situation. This is when Raven and Chelsea finally learn the true nature of their dispute. 

Nia, the level-headed of the two, felt left out in a lot of their decision making. 

(Gee, where have Rae and Chels heard that one before?) 

This feeling particularly boiled over when Tess decided that the two girls were going to "casually" break into their English teacher's classroom during lunch and take back Tess's headphones that the teacher confiscated earlier that day. Tess, on the other hand, felt as though Nia was out of line when she went ahead and told their English teacher what was going to happen and caught Tess in the act. 

In the grand scheme of things, the source of the fight may not seem worth all of the intense quarreling. But, it was enough to dig up all of the hidden, in-depth feelings that remained unsolved and packaged over the years of their close friendship. 

Raven and Chelsea each understood the emotional state the girls were in and swooped in to help. 

"Girls, in life, you're going to go through a lot of hardship and pain. Even with the ones you love and care about," Chelsea starts off. 

Raven took the baton. "But, you've already taken the first steps in healing and working through it." 

Nia and Tess blink at the mothers and then at each other. 

"What do you mean? We just sat here and told you our sides of the story." Tess was confused. 

Nia nodded her head in agreement with her neighbor's uncertainty. 

"What we mean is, you girls talked about it. You heard what the other had to say, so now all we can do is keep talking--without going at it like animals." 

The two remained silent for some time, regarding the situation and the effect it could have on their future. 

Nia, the maturest being in the world in Raven's eyes, acquired a great breath and looked at her best friend of several years. 

"Tess," she says in an earnest tone. "I don't want to fight anymore. I hate this. We are so much better than it. Look, I'm sorry I told Mrs. Wood about you getting back your headphones. I know how much music means to you and...I'm sorry." 

But Tess wasn't having it.

"No, no, Nia," she glared at the other girl for a brief moment, and then her eyes soften. "This wasn't your fault, girl. I knew better than to take back what was taken from me by a teacher. It would've been wrong and I'm glad you told so that I can learn my lesson."

"Well, I'm sorry for going against your back about it and hurting your trust. I deliberately did it, and I wish I can take that back and talk to you about it instead. I never want to hurt you."

"Nia? I'm sorry for always telling you what we're going to do instead of asking and listening to your thoughts. I'm always like this and I didn't think it would make you mad. I wanna change, though. So that I'm better. And then we can be better together." 

Nothing else in the world mattered more than this moment right here, right now. Tess and Nia met in the middle of the couch to embrace. Raven and Chelsea looked on at the two girls and couldn't help but take each other's hand and bawl at the scene. 

Another moment of growth and they carry on. 

...

Chelsea gets a job. 

Well...something. She managed to become an assistant to the 6th best interior designer in Chicago (according to Yelp) by literally running into him in front of the kids middle school. 

Rahul Dalal, at first glance, seems like a no-nonsense type of professional. However, when he got a look at Chelsea scrutinizing the school's newly remodeled library design during the PTA's annual Thanksgiving Drive meeting, he could not pass up on taking her under his wing and nurturing a companion to home and business decor. They also had a lot to discuss the slaughtering and stripping of animal fur and skin for certain furniture.

Chelsea is excited about it, so that means everybody else is, too. Especially since she comes bouncing into the apartment and falling into a melting hug with Raven, screaming and crying that she finally got a job on her own. Raven beams, rub her back, inhales the scent of Chelsea's shampoo and savors the moment. 

Only after does she realize she may have felt a twinge of disappointment that the embrace came to an end so soon. 

...

The Christmas tree is put up early this year. 

The kids all rally together one morning and assemble the massive green tree, decorated with vibrant ornaments, and topped off with their signature black angel. And when Raven and Chelsea stumble out of their bedroom and into the living room, the surprise is priceless. 

"Woah, y'all really rolled out of bed this morning for this? Christmas should be every morning of the year," Raven jokes, grinning as the kids laughed and gushed about what's to come in the next month. 

Her eyes fell on Chelsea as the redhead sleepily made her way into the kitchen and straight into the refrigerator. 

"You want me to make something?" Raven offers, coming up behind and unintentionally startling her. 

"Uh, no thanks, Rae, I can do it myself," Chelsea assures. She swiveled back into the fridge and began rummaging through the contents. 

"Okay. Um, since we're all up so early, maybe we can try making some pancakes again?" The brunette suggests, already opening the cabinet that harbored the pancake mix. 

Chelsea abruptly closed the fridge and flung herself in front of Raven in order to get to the mix first. Raven, stunned by the action, took a few steps back and gaped at her. Slight alarms going off in her head, Raven decides to probe a bit. 

"Hey, Chels?" 

"Yup," Chelsea says cliply, not looking at Raven while she acquired all of the necessary ingredients for pancakes. 

"What's up?" 

"Not much, what's up with you, Rae?" She shot a cheesy smile. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Raven immediately deemed the smile artificial. 

Raven stood back as she surveyed her best friend of so many (a century, really) years. Something is way off. The taller woman slams the cabinet shut, her brows are too furrowed, her pace is way too hasty, her frown is too...frown-y. This isn't the bright ball of blinding light that Chelsea usually is. 

No. 

This is wrong.

"Chelsea." Her tone is acidic and forceful. 

( _Commanding_.) 

Chelsea does _not_ like it. 

The lithe woman twirls in her spot to face her roommate. 

" _What?"_ Chelsea's own voice is grim. Almost...growling. 

Raven is astounded by it. She instantly responds.

"My God, Chels, what's _wrong?"_

Raven wasn't accusing, assuming, or abusing, but the look on Chelsea's face would beg to differ. 

"Jesus, Rae, _nothing_. Leave me alone, okay?" Chelsea brushes past Raven roughly, ignoring the kids, and stalks off to their shared bedroom. Door slams. Raven winces and then sighs. 

Nia is the first to speak up.

"Is everything okay with aunt Chels?" 

The question mirrors the one she asked before months ago, and Raven really wants to convince them that she is _okay_ and everything is _okay_ , but of course, everything _can't_ ever be okay. 

"We're just...we're just going to, uh, give aunt Chels some time. That's all. She'll be okay."

They're not convinced. Raven isn't so convinced either. 

The rest of the day remains soundless. 

...

The very next day, Raven is pulled into a vision. 

_Chelsea is sitting with her arms secured across her chest. Tears are pouring out of her misty brown eyes._

__

__

_"I don't know, Rae. It's so hard. I don't think I can do this anymore."_

Raven is pulled back into the present. She gasps.

"Oh, Chels..."

...

_Winter_

Raven walks on eggshells from then on. Anytime she is near Chelsea, it is tense and awkward. The psychic has tried on more than one occasion to get to the bottom of Chelsea's sudden 180 behavior. Before, for a while, she was her usual bubbly, optimistic self. Now, she never seems to erect a smile. Not even around Levi. This is something to worry about extensively. 

With a few days until Christmas, Raven tries again. 

She manages to corner the redhead in the kitchen, where it happens to be the setting of the original blowup. 

"Chelsea, hey girl. Can I talk to ya?" Raven showcases her famous white toothy smile, attempting to ease her clearly distressed friend. 

"You've been wanting to talk a lot recently. What is it now?" She sounds dejected, and it's just so unsettling to hear. 

(Raven almost wants to grab her and shake her and scream at her. But that wouldn't really solve anything.) 

"That right there," she refers to Chelsea's reply to her query, "Chelsea. Please, _please_ talk to me. You already know you can come to me for anything." 

Chelsea is silent. She doesn't even look at Raven. The brunette has had enough of it. She saunters up closer to Chelsea and stares right into her, sympathetic eyes so polished with trepidation. She says her name for the millionth time. 

Finally, Chelsea gazes at her. On the verge of tears, in a feeble voice, she stops hiding. 

"I don't know, Rae...it's like all of a sudden I'm angry. And sad. And I don't mean to be or _want_ to be. I called my mother a while ago, and she talked and talked but...it's still so unclear to me." 

Raven nods while listening, attentively trying to process every single thing Chelsea is relaying. 

"It's easy to see--and easy to feel, in my case--that I'm depressed. I just...don't understand. Why? Ever since Levi and I moved in here, we've been so much happier. So much happier. I just...Rae, _you_ make me so happy and I don't know why I'm feeling so shitty now of all times. It's-it's _Christmas_ for God sakes." 

Raven takes her hands and encloses it around Chelsea's like they've done so many times before. 

"I know, I know. But just because it's Christmas doesn't mean you _have_ to be happy. Just...comfortable, at least. Chels, I wanted to know, how long have you been feeling this way? I mean, when did it...start?" 

"Maybe since...I got my job." Chelsea answers after a thoughtful moment. 

"That's about a month, Chels." 

"I know," she whispers and looks away, almost ashamed. 

Raven coaxes her back.

"No, no, you do not have to be embarrassed about that. Look, okay, so let's think about causes. A month ago? You got that fabulous job. Something you're _amazing_ at, girl! Now, what can be sad about that?" 

"I don't think it's the job itself, Rae. I mean, I love it. It's good for me. Mr. Dalal is so nice and helpful." For the first time in a while, Raven can catch a glimpse of the typical chirpy Chelsea. Raven wants to bring the rest of her home. 

"He's nice, okay. Is it anything the kids did? _I_ did?" 

"No, Rae. Gosh, I love you guys so much. Sure, sometimes things don't turn out the way I'd like them too but that was always normal." 

Raven's heart automatically flutters at the statement, smiling slightly to herself. She mentally takes note of what she says and conjures up more potential triggers to Chelsea's depression. And like a seatbelt sliding perfectly into a buckle, it clicks. 

"Chelsea. Tell me about last year." 

"Huh?" The taller woman looks at the shorter one perplexed. 

"Just...tell me about it. What did you guys do for the holidays? I know you called about it once or twice, but just remind me." 

"Uh, well, for Thanksgiving we split seeing our families. We flew out to San Fran for my parents, and then we flew out to England for his. They were nice. Levi liked it there; he especially loved their big German Shepard. His name was Howard," Chelsea smiled at the memory of the dog, "And then for Christmas, we spent at home. Just us...and the nanny...and the housekeepers...and the gardener and chef...and also my yoga instructor--"

"Okay, Chels." 

Chelsea looks sheepish. "Right. Uh, and we, I don't know, had a great time. Normal family stuff." 

"Yeah? That it? Anything else happened?" Raven seems to press, and Chelsea did look a little reluctant to end it there. 

"Well..." the redhead trails off, biting her bottom lip. She ceased talking. 

"Okay. I definitely know there's way more to it than that. I wanna know specifics...like, specifically about Garrett," Raven briefly worried that she may be overstepping here, but sometimes, you just very well have to. For the ones you care about. For the ones you love. 

Chelsea breathes deeply; in and out and in and out. 

"Garrett..." she said it like a sigh. Like a rustle, or a groan, or a moan. Like a whisper. 

Raven waits for her to continue. She waits like on the edge of your seat kind of wait. Like she could taste the reveal on the tip of her tongue. Like the first drops of chilled water, or the very first signs of the scorching sun peeking coyly over the horizon. Or, like the most important person in your existence (besides your kids, of course) on the line of disclosing their very troubles that made them _hurt_ for way _too_ much and way _too_ long. Raven waits.

She may have known the immediate troubles, such as the thieving man literally embezzling near millions of Chelsea's money earned through her own innovation: the _Schmop_. Not only that but additionally running away with the cash _and_ another woman. But, unfortunately, Raven was never as close to Chelsea during Garrett as she was pre-Garrett, so any prior mistreatment, Raven wouldn't know about. 

What she _did_ know, however, wasn't much better. 

Garrett never did sit well with Raven. Sure, she tried being polite and civil toward the guy, but he was just so...not right. For Chelsea, really. 

At first--and the psychic would deny this--but at first it might've been slight jealousy. Before Garrett, Chelsea was always around and always a phone call away. Especially when Raven needed her the most, i.e. prior, during and post pregnancy. But, because Raven wanted to see Chelsea happy (she would do _anything_ to see her happy), she decided to push for Chelsea to _meet_ someone, which ultimately ended with the redhead meeting a man from her old work that seemed efficient enough. He _was_ nice, and _was_ thoughtful, and _was_ handsome. 

(He arguably still is handsome but once you show your true hideous self on the inside, that's all Raven can see.) 

But then Chelsea became pregnant. And things began to fall apart. 

Chelsea wasn't coming around so much anymore. At first, Raven figured it might have had a lot to do with the pregnancy. Maybe Chelsea was busy buying baby stuff, making appointments, visiting family, feeling sick or terrible or icky or whatever. But, Raven remained skeptical. Raven tried calling, but it was Garrett who would always answer; even on Chelsea's cell phone. He would dish out a lame response and hang up on her. Raven tried going over to their home but Garrett would answer the door and the cycle would continue. 

Eventually, after the birth of Levi, Chelsea did call back. She called to relay the news and promised to send pictures. Raven was shaking so much and choking back a sob that she couldn't build up the strength to tell Chelsea to stay on the line before she hanged up because the baby was crying and Garrett needed her. 

And then it was occasional phone calls and sporadic visits from there on. 

Until. 

Presently, Chelsea is coming to grips with recollecting her past with Garrett. 

Raven may have realized too late that this may be way too soon to discuss. 

"Chels..."

Chelsea sniffs and sighs again. 

"No, it's okay. I think...I think it's important to talk about it now. Yeah..." 

So, she talked. For a while. So much so, that they relocated to their bedroom and shared the bottom bed of the bunk. 

Raven, in the midst of knowing the truth of everything regarding Chelsea and Garrett's _very_ sadistic relationship, never wanted anything more than to _straight up kill_ him. As in, actually literally murder Garrett and dispose of his body in a horrific, gruesome way. 

To not put it lightly, the bastard was emotionally, verbally, and somewhat physically abusive towards Chelsea. 

The degrading and wretched words he would say, the dominant and commanding tone he would use, the forceful touch or grab he would lash out; Raven could barely stomach it all. Even if it is just Chelsea relaying. 

( _Especially_ because Chelsea is relaying.) 

And it was always the worst around the holidays. 

The absolute broken heartache that the redhead is sporting is agonizing to watch. Then just like that, Raven's prior vision played out flawlessly before her. 

"I don't know, Rae. It's so hard. I don't think I can do this anymore." 

In context, she may just mean talking about her traumatic experiences. It takes a millisecond for Raven to swaddle Chelsea into her arms and just hold her. Hold her until their dying day, honestly. 

Whatever works for the both of them. 

...

Christmas day and everyone is actually content. 

(For Chelsea, as long as she has Raven's hand to wrap hers around, then she is good to go for anything.) 

...

By New Year's Eve, at their apartment building party, the kids have noticed something. 

Nothing necessarily off, but just, _something_. 

Levi puts it into words. 

"I think mom and auntie Rae are good together." 

Nia spits out her punch, Booker gets starry-eyed, and Tess wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. 

They practically spend the rest of the night chasing the mothers with a delayed mistletoe tactic. 

(It works...sort of.) 

(And by sort of that means it didn't really work at all.)

...

Thanks to Booker's wonderful gift of seeing into the future, it looks like they can get a second chance at a "true love's kiss." (Booker's choice of words) 

"Guys, listen!" He has gathered the usual group consisting of Nia, Levi, Tess, and himself, into the boy's bedroom. "I had a vision this morning, and I think it may be the best vision I've had yet!" 

"Was it of me winning the science fair?"

"Was it of me in the basketball hall of fame?"

"Was it of me reaching my goal height of 4'10''?" 

"No. To all of that," he says with a bewildered face, "I had a vision of mom and aunt Chels getting _really_ close in the kitchen."

They all jumped at that immediately. 

"What? How close? Which close? When close?"

"Um, _romantically_ close, and I don't know when. Could be today; could be tomorrow. Could be next week." 

" _Next week?_ No, no, no. It's gotta happen waaayyy sooner than that, like, _today_ sooner." Nia says plainly, no room for objections or protests. Tess and Levi nod in affirmation. 

"Okay, okay, let's say this happens today--which we are not sure of," he adds in before Tess and Levi can prematurely cheer for victory, "we need a plan to make sure it goes smoothly." 

"Why do we need a plan if you already had a vision about it? Won't it just come true anyways?" Tess reasons, a bit lost on why they should need a plan of action. If anything, she thinks they should camp out in the living room and bare witness to it with their own eyes when it does happen. 

"Well, sometimes my visions _don't_ come true. Like, last week I had a vision that Levi was going to make a basket in gym, but he ended up losing it to another kid on the other team. I was really rooting for you, buddy." Booker turns to Levi and gave him a disappointed shake of the head. 

"I know. You were yelling my name so much I couldn't concentrate and the other team took the ball." 

"You make it sound like it wasn't your fault." 

"Well, it was definitely somebody in this room's fault," Levi said. 

"That's not fair, Nia wasn't even there--" 

"It was _your_ fault, dummy." Nia rolls her eyes, practically routinely at this point. 

"Oh."

" _Anyways_..."

The "plan" is formulated in haste, which means it wasn't a good plan. In the end, they walk away with suspicious looks from Raven and Chelsea, deservingly. 

...

Turns out, it was the next week. 

Booker was creeping his way into the kitchen for a past midnight snack when he heard the hushed voices of his mother and aunt Chelsea. 

"Rae, we have to talk about this. I can't keep putting it off," Chelsea murmurs, back to the island counter separating the living room and the kitchen. Booker crouched down behind the corridor to listen silently and carefully. 

Raven sighed heavily and took a moment to look into Chelsea's burning eyes. 

"I know, Chels." Her tone matches the others, low and tender; soft and passionate. 

They have known, for a while, that things were changing between them. Drastic things. 

For Raven, it was a new developing feeling. For as long as she can remember, she has loved boys. In that way. Obviously, for she was absolute boy crazy back in high school. Even in grade school, she always showed them interest and attention. Never did she think that she was freely able to show interest and attention towards girls. 

In retrospect, heteronormativity has always been the accepted norm. Now, albeit with the current political climate, things are arguably a lot more received favorably. In regards to things being LGBTQ+ related. 

And now, Raven is reveling in it. They've known each other since they were toddlers. Raven has and will do anything for Chelsea Daniels. The second she saw just how shattered Chelsea was after the arrest of Garrett, she never wanted to let her go. Never wanted to leave her, be without her, separate from her. Chelsea, outside of the children, was all she could think and care about. 

_Chelsea_. 

She has fallen in love with Chelsea. 

There it was. Now it's a matter of addressing it _with_ the object of her recent affections. 

For Chelsea, it has always been this way. Quite literally she's always been warm to the possibility of falling in love with Raven. Because of it, Chelsea never did easily initiate relationships with boys; it was always with the help of Raven. 

Raven, Raven, Raven. 

The curvaceous brunette never could escape her mind, not even for a moment. She virtually lived at the Baxter's residence. There was even an instance of her parents joking that she should just move in already. How humorous it is now. 

And here she is, years later, having been involved with Garrett in the first place because of her intense love for Raven. 

( _She never looked at me like how I would have liked her too._

__

__

_It was always someone else._ ) 

(This time, she _is_ looking at her.) 

Chelsea steps closer to Raven, palms clammy, lips dry, heart hammering. 

"I love you, Rae," she breathes. 

"I _love_ you." 

They look into each other. 

Raven can barely speak, can barely move, can barely respire. She wrestles with the lump in her throat and administers the control to actually respond. 

"I love you, Chels." 

They gradually lean in together to embrace, and Booker's vision comes alive vividly. 

Lips to lips, it's a steamy crescendo of purity. 

The young boy beams at the scene and successfully sneaks away back into his bedroom to awake Levi by jumping on his bed. 

The following morning, the kids cannot stop their smiling. 

Neither can Raven or Chelsea. 

...

Small changes are made. Like, how everything is pretty much the same, except Raven and Chelsea kiss a lot now. 

(Among other things...)

The mothers officially sat their kids down (along with Tess) and allowed the cat out of the bag about their intimate relationship. They were clearly delighted--and dumbfounded--to see how much the kids were on board. 

"This is perfect. Now we're an even closer family!" Nia expresses enthusiastically. 

"Does that mean Levi is officially my little bro?" Booker asks in yearning. 

"I wanna DJ the wedding!" Tess declares. 

"Oh my gosh, I can plan everything," Nia turns toward Tess and the girls careen into a disorderly discussion on the matter. 

"I get to hold the rings," deems Levi. 

Booker eyes him cynically. "Woah, what about me?"

"How do you feel about flowers? Specifically leading a trail of it down the aisle?" 

"Hey, I'm not gonna be no flower girl! If anything, I'm gonna be a flower man!" 

Raven and Chelsea amusingly observe the fuss before them. Finally, Raven grabs their attention again. 

"Hey, listen up, y'all! Who said anything about a wedding? We are literally just now telling you guys that we are together. That's it." 

"For now," Chelsea adds quietly, a smirk blooming on her face. 

Raven's head whips back to Chelsea, hazel eyes wide and searing. All the redhead can do is offer a shrug. 

"What am I going to do with you guys?" Raven ponders kiddingly while shaking her head in an amused manner. 

Chelsea and the kids smile innocently, causing a swell of adoration from the psychic. Bless this family. 

...

 _Spring_

"Hey, mom?"

Chelsea jumps a bit at the unexpected sound of her son's voice and twirls around to find him timidly lingering in and out of her open bedroom doorframe, appearing a tad unsure of himself. 

"Hey, sweetie. C'mere," she coos, voice slathered in honey. With an outstretched hand, she gestures for Levi to enter and sit with her on the bottom bunk that she now shares merrily with Raven. The bombshell herself wasn't around currently, having to worry about her new fashion design business. 

They both make themselves comfortable on the crisp, silk-like sheets of the mattress. 

"So, what's up, pumpkin? How was school?" Chelsea inquires, genuinely interested in Levi's day so far. 

"It was okay, as usual. Booker did get into a bit of trouble with some of the custodial staff, but nothing quite extraordinary," Levi raddle's off a smidge, reminiscing in the adventurous day he had, which has become the norm for him since moving into this apartment with the Baxters. It's a far cry from the way his life used to be before. 

Chelsea smiled at the tickled sight of her 9-year-old. "You really like having Booker around, huh?" 

"Of course. He's my brother," Levi says this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And Nia's my sister. Which reminds me of why I came in here today." 

Chelsea waits expectantly. 

"Is it okay...if auntie Rae...can be my mom, too?" 

It's the first time either one of the kids has recognized or mentioned the idea of the other mother being referred to as their own mom. If that made any sense. 

Chelsea could not keep down her giddiness and squeals. She, unfortunately, had to be patient for Raven to come home to relay the request. 

But then that struck some anxiety. What if Raven felt weird about that? Would she accept Levi's mother proposal? What happens if she doesn't? Levi is a mature boy, but even then he still harbors emotions. Chelsea was simultaneously antsy with excitement and with apprehension. 

Not terribly long after the mother and son conversation, did Raven come skipping into the apartment, a melody on her lips and a gleam in her eyes. 

"How goes it, family?" 

"Rae!" Chelsea bounced up to her. 

"Hey! Kisses!" Raven leans to capture Chelsea's lips with her own. It turns into something between a peck and a full-on snog. 

The redhead reluctantly disengages her now swollen lips and ceases Raven's hands, not unusually, pulling her towards the hallway. 

"Hey, the kids are home, aren't they?" The brunette laughs, baiting suggestively. 

"Raaaeee!" The taller woman whines, "Not now! You have to see Levi, though." 

The statement was odd, but Raven follows after like a lost puppy anyways. 

"Levi?" She found him sitting on her bed as if he was waiting for her. Which, he was, essentially. "What's up, kiddo? Did you wanna talk?" 

Chelsea shut the door right after Raven, leaving the two alone in the room, causing the psychic to raise a brow in suspicion. She shrugged it off subsequently and snuggled close to Levi who was already wrapped in one of her blankets. 

"Okay. We're all nice and cozy, all warm, and all cuddled up. What's on your mind?" Raven smiles encouragingly, allowing the boy time to sort out his thoughts. 

"I...um," he hesitates. It's weird. He knows exactly what he _wants_ to say. He has no doubts in his heart that he wants to say this. But...this is _Raven Baxter_. Arguably the strongest woman he knows. His mother is strong as well, without a doubt. But, Raven is different. A leader. A monarch. A boss. He admires her. _He is intimidated by her_. 

He stares at her soft, patient smile. 

He swallows his irrationality and begins again. 

"Auntie Rae...is it okay if I don't call you that anymore?" 

The pause makes Raven's heart plummet into the depths of herself. What? Does he mean? 

"Well, uh, I mean," she stutters, "if you don't want to call me that anymore, that-that's okay. But...can I ask you why?" She was almost afraid of the answer. (She was _very_ afraid.) 

"Because I want to call you something else." 

"Oh?"

"I want to call you mom, too." 

For being a usual blunt kid most of the time, he sure did pick an awful instance to pause for dramatic purposes like he did, for Raven sighed in relief before she can even process entirely what he said. 

Then, like a train derailing, it hit her. 

"Oh. Oh... _oh_. Oh! Levi! I-I-I mean, are you sure? I mean, of course, you can! Of course!" She's too elated to form a coherent structure of words right now. Levi knows this and waits for her to sort out her own thoughts. 

She stops herself from talking any further and just looks at the young boy looking at her. 

She will protect him with every single fiber of her being. 

"Levi," she says warmly, like a wish, like a prayer, like a dream. "I would love for you to call me mom. I love you." 

They snuggle even closer and just talk forever. 

Later, Chelsea creeks the door open and finds Raven and Levi asleep tangled together like a web. 

She gushes, snaps a photo, and leaves them to their slumber. 

...

Not long after, does Chelsea find herself alone in the living room with Booker and Nia, who are shuffling quite anxiously and unable to contain brightening grins. 

"Hi, kids." Chelsea greets them, a fond look adoring her calm features. 

As most times, Nia brooches the subject first. 

"So, we were wondering something. Something important." 

" _Very_ important," Booker adds.

"Right. Very important. _The_ most important, even." 

"Okay, big importance got it." Chelsea just can't help but still smile at the pair. 

She's known them since they were snugged inside of their mother's womb. She's been around for their births, their first feedings, their first steps, first word (in Nia's case), first holidays. Besides the modest gap for a while, Chelsea was always around and practically a factor in their developing years. 

She was always aunt Chelsea. 

After today, at this very moment, she can be something else. 

Nia and Booker glance at each other knowingly, a single nod of the head like they practiced, and then at the exact same time, said one of the most important things Chelsea will hear in her life. 

"Can we call you mom, too?" 

Chelsea breaks out into a sob. A happy, screaming _yes_ , sob. 

They perform a group hug and stay that way for so long, that they are dearly disturbed when Tess walks through the door. 

They invite her into the hug anyway. 

...

Nirvana. 

They are living in it, they're so sure. 

Chelsea wakes up in Raven's arms. A position she can't help getting over. The sun's pouring in through the windows, bathing the room in an attractive twinkling glow. It's very pretty, but Chelsea thinks Raven's face is prettier, so she stares at that for a while longer until the sleeping woman starts to stir awake. Their eyes meet, and with that, the day has officially begun. 

At breakfast, the kids set the table, as Raven has her hands full with making pancakes, and Chelsea has her hands full with Raven. 

"Mm, Chels, you do know the kids are within earshot, right?" The brunette asks, still sounding just so damn tempting to the redhead. 

"Yeah, Rae, what about it? I'm not doing anything...out of line...am I?" With that, Chelsea slowly runs her hands over the curves of Raven's torso, stopping just under the swell of her breasts and cupping them. Raven squeaked at the contact, suddenly very aware of her own arousal. 

"Oooo, Chels. You gonna get it..." Raven hisses threateningly. 

"I sure hope so," she moans back, breath tickling the base of the shorter woman's neck. 

"Shit," Raven mutters. "Kids, don't y'all need to be getting to school?!" She shouted for them to hear. 

"Mom? It's _Saturday_." 

" _Shit!"_

...

Raven and Chelsea find themselves alone in the apartment once again, exchanging lingering stares and flirty glances as they work on preparing dinner together. The kids are lounging about on the roof deck, so without their jubilating presence, things are just intimate and serene. 

That is until Booker and Levi come crashing into the living room followed by Nia and Tess, who are just as energetic while entering. 

"Mom! Look who we found!" Booker bellows breathlessly, creating wild gestures toward the open doorway. 

Raven and Chelsea drop their utensils and food condiments and met with them beside the couch. A handsome sight meets their eyes. 

"Hey, Rae, hey, Chels." There, standing a bit hesitantly at the doorway, is Devon Carter. 

"Devon?" Raven looks a bit surprised to see the man. 

"Yeah, we found him just loitering in the hallway, totally not weird or anything, right dad?" Nia poked fun at him in good nature. 

Chelsea looks at Raven in anticipation of her reaction, almost nervous but ready to stand by her side the entire time. It's deathly silent...until Raven smiles and squeals. "Devon Carter, get your fine butt over here!" 

With the tension broken, the kids laugh, Devon laughs, Raven laughs, and Chelsea laughs a bit weaker than the rest of them. 

"It's so good to see you, Rae. You and the kids," he sighs contently while hugging Raven firmly and cracks an eye open as if to make sure Chelsea was still in the room. "You too, Chelsea." He throws in. 

The slim woman forces a smile, but is internally having a mental battle over whether or not Devon is being deliberately oblivious to her, or just way too ecstatic to be holding Raven to think of anything else. The latter thought drives her to dig her manicured nails into the palms of her hands, designing half moon shaped crescents. 

The action makes her wince in chagrin, inwardly berating herself for doubting the intentions of Devon Carter. She _likes_ Devon Carter. She trusts him. He was always very good to Raven, and she never had a problem with him. Well. Not openly. There was always that non-spoken competition for Raven's attention, but it's not like Devon ever knew or had any inclination that he was her enemy in that regard. Otherwise, he is a great man. Especially to his kids, and even to Levi, which Chelsea appreciates profoundly. 

But right at this moment, with his arms still wrapped so securely around Raven's body, her inner protectiveness and jealousy cannot help but want to make an appearance. She manages to subdue the urge to bark at the man and allows the embrace to continue. 

After all, _he_ was Raven's first love. 

(No matter if _Raven_ was Chelsea's.) 

Eventually, the hug does end and the two delve into some catching up kind of conversing, while the kids gather around them and intermittently ask questions and make comments. Chelsea drifts back into the kitchen to proceed making dinner, a frown etched on her face and onto her heart.

Devon remains for dinner. And for dessert. And for after-dinner-and-dessert family time, consisting of putting on the TV and not paying attention to what's on the TV. Chelsea feels herself being unreasonable. But then she'll see Raven and Devon looking into each other's sparkling eyes and giggling. She'll watch them gravitate towards the other and parenting their respective kids. She'll catch them sneaking comfortable, familiar touches. And it all makes her want to _die_. Or kill. And that's just unreasonable, right? It's normal for two divorced people who have known each other for a long time, married, had children, are still so close and friendly, to be...so close and friendly. It's ordinary, standard, common. It's Raven and Devon, the high school sweethearts, unsuccessful at one time, but could become successful this time or a time to come and Chelsea is just not having it. She forces her eyes shut closed, and strives to shake the dark thoughts out of her head. This does not go unnoticed by Raven herself. She leans over to Chelsea sitting on her right. 

"Chels, you alright?" 

Chelsea panics for a single moment but recovers rather quickly. 

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Umm, I'm gonna grab a snack." 

"We just had dinner...and desert."

"This is a...dack. A snack between dinner and a snack."

"What?" 

"Want me to grab you anything?"

The brunette peers at her suspiciously, but finally shakes her head to decline her girlfriend's offer. 

Chelsea may or may not be hyperventilating a little bit as she stumbles into the kitchen, taking a couple of minutes to recollect her breath and to sort out her unruly thoughts. 

"Hey, Chels." 

The redhead yelps, jumping slightly and spins around to find Devon standing before her. 

"Oh, h-hey, Devon. What's up? Did you want a dack, too?" Chelsea asks, trying to sound genuine and not at all like her heart is trying to beat itself right out of her chest. That wouldn't look good. 

"Huh? Never mind. No, I just wanted to talk to you for a second. Didn't really get an opportunity to ask for it, so I figured now would be a good time. Since I'm pretty much leaving back for Texas after this." 

"Okay..."

Honestly, Chelsea doesn't really want to talk. Honestly, she's scared of what he might say. By now Devon is fully aware of the established relationship between herself and Raven, and he has yet to say much about it. Sure, he congratulated the two at dinner, but that was it. What are his actual feelings on it? Is he just as jealous and intimidated by Chelsea as she is with him? Is...that why he came to visit out of the blue (Despite his claim that he had other business in Chicago before popping by)? Does he want her back? Well, Chelsea is more than willing to fight tooth and nails for that wacky designer, he better know. And then he finally opens his mouth to talk and what he says makes the vegetarian pause and ponder the last half of the day. 

"Thank you, Chelsea. For being there for Rae. I...I know you guys don't need my permission or acceptance or anything like that, but you have it. I'm happy for you two. Truly. And you don't even have to worry about Nia and Booker, they love you so much. God, and Levi, he's a great little man. This is the family I'm so glad to be a part of. Again, thank you." 

Any and all apprehensive and toxic feelings she harbored towards the man dissolve into nothing. What is left is gratitude and a sense of mutual companionship. Peace. It baffles her how fast that evolvement of emotions was. She feels guilty about the previous low-key aversion of Devon. Especially with him being so clueless of the matter. They exchange hugs anyways and meet back up with the family in the living room. 

Later, when Devon bids everyone a farewell, and the kids trudge along to bed, Raven slides into bed contently while Chelsea makes little effort to do so. 

"Girl, c'mon, shut off the lights and get into bed. I'm feelin' being big spoon tonight." Raven purrs, already half asleep. 

"Rae..." she uses that crestfallen voice, and it's as if its an alarm for Raven. The psychic sits upright in bed immediately and looks at the woman. 

"What's wrong? How are you feeling?" Chelsea can see the actual worry in her eyes, in her voice, in her body language. She feels even worse about what she wants to confess. 

"Rae, I'm so sorry," the sob she's been trying to swallow escapes, and Chelsea lets the flood lose. "I'm such an awful girlfriend." 

Raven is _shook_. 

"What? Chelsea, what are you saying? C'mere," Raven desperately reaches for Chelsea and the plump woman pulls her into her lap. She runs her hands over the silkiness of the auburn hair and holds her compactly. "What are you talking about? You know you're my girl, my number one, my... _biscuit head?"_ Raven whispers the last thing tenderly, wanting to get a chuckle out of the crying woman. 

"Oh, gosh, Rae. I'm such a _bitch!"_

Now Raven is even more shook. 

"Woah, woah, woah! No, you are not, you're trippin'! _What_ is wrong?" Raven is hurt and a lot mad that she would say something like that about herself. 

"I-I, I _hated_ Devon today." 

"What?" Raven's voice is soft now. Almost quiet. 

"It was just...he came by and you were so happy to see him and I _get_ that, but I still couldn't help but feel like...like _I_ was the one coming by and you guys were the family, and I don't know...but! But he talked to me and he said he was so happy for us and that he's happy that I'm here for you, and-and he _thanked_ me." Chelsea, at this point, has buried her face into Raven's neck, too afraid to look her in the eye. 

"Oh, Chelsea...why would that make you a bitch, huh? You had legitimate thoughts and fears. I know I would feel the same way if Garrett or any of your other exes came back to visit. Actually, if Garrett _ever_ came back to visit, he'd be visiting the morgue right after, he can believe that." 

_That_ gets a laugh out of Chelsea. And that also gets a sniffle or two and a face to face contact. 

"I'm sorry, Rae..." 

"No. Don't be sorry. You're mine and I'm yours. Nobody's ever going to change that. Not even my fine ex-husband. I love _you_. Okay?" 

Chelsea manages a smile and a nod. 

"Okay. And if you ever doubt yourself like that again, I'm gonna withdraw our monthly donations to Save-A-Whale. Okay?" 

Chelsea's face falls at the empty threat, but before she can protest, Raven's already tackling her in the bed and smothering her with smooches. 

It's an extraneous rest of the night. 

... 

_Summer_

It's been well over a year since certain events lead Chelsea and Levi to move in with Raven, Booker and Nia (and Tess, practically). 

Over a year of craziness, misunderstandings, disguises, fights, makeups, passion, laughs, and family. 

And love.

So much love: friendly love, sibling love, maternal love, romantic love. 

The kind of 25 years in the making romantic love. The kind where there is no second guessing or sudden twinges or bursts of doubt. The kind where the intimacy is plentiful and bountiful and endless. The kind where both parties just can't bare or survive the thought of estrange-ness. The all around, pure, wholesome, divine, _sublime_ , kind of love that transcends. That wraps them up and keeps them safe. That explodes and ripples through their universe. That is stitched into their beating, bloody hearts. That exists. And is here. 

Chelsea occasionally thinks back to her dysfunctional life with Garrett. Not in a longing way, _never_ in a longing way. But, more of a way that reminds her how grateful she is to be here at this moment now. 

However, any thoughts of Garrett quickly vanishes when Raven walks into the room, unknowingly captivating the redhead's interest and soul instantly. The kids come scampering in after her, arguing about who gets to ride shotgun on the way to school and who gets the last fruit roll-up for lunch. Tess walks right into the apartment without knocking and effortlessly joins in on the banter. 

Chelsea watches as Raven makes her way over to her, a smile a permanent fixture on her natural, morning face. A sight so beautiful to the redhead. Raven, with upturned lips, pecks her taller girlfriend on the cheek and turns to stand next to her as they affectionately gaze at their children going about their Monday morning. 

"Hey, I called the dibs on the last fruit roll-up, who took it? _Tess!"_

"What? I'm not gonna live through lunch with what my mom made _me_ , B."

"What did she make you?"

"She packed me last weeks leftover's of a box of doughnuts. _None_ of em jelly." 

"We can give them to the security guards, then. I worry they can't maintain our safety if they're hungry." 

"You're right, Levi. Booker, let Tess keep the roll-up and I'll give you my granola." 

"Is it peanut butter?"

"No."

"Deal." 

"C'mon, baby shoes, you want in on these trades?" 

"Nah, I'm good with my banana." 

The mothers stand aside, hearts full and hands warmly wrapped around the others. A scene neither would trade anything in the world for. 

Until a box of doughnuts finds its way onto the floor with a chorus of "Moms!" being shouted. 

Raven and Chelsea look to each other. 

"They're _your_ kids," they say simultaneously. 

And like any other morning in the Baxter-Daniels household, the day has begun.

**Author's Note:**

> OH MY GOD HELLO THERRE?? HOW ARE YOU? Thank you so much for reading this entire dump if you made it this far! I'm pretty proud of this one, so please enjoy it. I will probably not make more lmao because I'm a lazy piece of shit. There were some weird mistakes in this, but hell with it. It's gonna be on here forever!


End file.
